Thursday, December 24, 2009

I can't believe it's already Christmas Eve. This whole year has flown by. In another week it will be 2010! Isn't that crazy?

I managed to get almost all of my shopping done last week, and I didn't set one foot in a store to do it. I bought everything online and had it shipped. Not only did it save me a bundle (I found some awesome online sales) but it saved me from committing murder just before Christmas.

This year MM and I decided to make our gift theme camping. This year we decided to do a lot more camping, but we don't have a lot of gear. The kids' sleeping bags, for example, were purchased when they were toddlers and are now ripped and falling apart. So we decided instead of doing traditional play-with-them-for-a-week-then-forget-about-them toys to get them good sleeping bags and other camping gear. We even got them flashlights and camping toilet paper for their stockings. (heh)

We did buy them a few other things - they each got a Nintendo DS game to play with, TG got a couple CDs and LM got some DS accessories.

I think MM is most excited about his gift, though. He got a dutch oven. He's over the moon about this thing. Last I heard he's even planning to bust it out Christmas day and make us a dessert. (I'm not holding my breath)

I'm hosting both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day this year (I have for the past couple of years). Tonight we'll have butternut squash soup and chili (and my mom's oyster stew) and tomorrow we'll have a full traditional spread. At Thanksgiving (I still have that post to finish up...) I did something non-traditional and made Italian food. I thought MM and TG were going to stage a full out rebellion. Not that I cared much since I was the one doing the cooking, not them. But still, I figured I'd go back to doing the traditional thing for Christmas.

I'm making a ham, roast beef and all the trimmings. MM's sister and mom are making a turkey and bringing desserts. All in all I think we'll have close to 3o people here. Part of me is looking forward to it, but part of me isn't. My sister spent the night last night and she'll help me get most of the sides ready today, which will help. While we can do the bulk of the preparations tonight, all of the cooking as to be done tomorrow.

I think next year we're going to take a trip during the holidays. As much as I love spending time with my family, it'll be nice getting away from the stress.

The day after Christmas we're taking the kids to their dad's. We split the holidays and this is my year to have them for Christmas, but since they get a full two weeks off we agreed to let them go up to his house for the second week. I'm kind of looking forward to a week of rest and relaxation.

I certainly adore P&P in all forms, but I'm partial to a few scenes in the 2005 release. I'm not trying to take away from the epic BBC version (and it IS epic), but there's something so...gripping about this scene from the big screen version.

Thursday, December 10, 2009

Right around Thanksgiving I sent both Casee and Rowena packages of books. This is something I do once a month, or maybe twice a month depending, and I've never had any problems before. Sure, sometimes it takes forever to reach them, but then sometimes it doesn't take any time at all. I usually send them media mail because it costs less and that hasn't ever been an issue either.

Yesterday Rowena sent me an email asking if I'd sent her books. She said she hadn't gotten them yet and was kind of worried that they'd gotten lost. I was kind of worried, too, because Casee got hers and she lives in another state. Rowena's books always get delivered before Casee's.

Rowena said she'd check around her office and see if she could find them and I pretty much assumed they'd been delivered when she wasn't there and someone hadn't told her. But then I got home today and what was on my door step? That's right, Rowena's package. It had been returned to me. Know why?

Because it said there was "No Such Number" as the zip code I put on there. Which I can understand. Sometimes my handwriting isn't the best, and after checking the package I can see where they'd have issues because the "8" looks like a "0".

Only it wasn't Rowena's zip code they couldn't read...it was mine. Now tell me, how is it that the post office can't read my zip code and therefore claims no such number exists, but they can return the package to my house. Does that make a lick of sense?

I plan to take it back to the post office tomorrow to find out WTF the deal is. I better not have to pay postage again either.

Tuesday, December 08, 2009

Believe it or not I actually wrote up an entire blog post about Thanksgiving, with the exception of the final paragraph. Then I got distracted the by the shiny and never finished it. Maybe I'll polish that bad boy off later this week and post it for your entertainment.

Then again maybe not.

Today I bring you a completely random and totally unrelated-to-anything question. First, the backstory:

A year or two ago my cousin came to visit with her family. She has two little girls, one of which was only a couple months old at the time. She forgot her bottle brush, so I went and picked one up for her. She didn't bother to take it with her when she left, and I occasionally use it for glasses, etc. Plus, the bottom detaches and there's a little brush (to be used to clean nipples) in there that works great for cleaning hard-to-reach corners and stuff.

I keep the bottlebrush in the in-sink dish rack (similar to this one) I keep in the rinse side of the sink. It isn't that I use it every day, but it doesn't take up much space and it's convenient having it right there for when I do need it.

Also kept in the rinse side of the sink is my potato scrubber, a scrubby, a washrag and a sponge.

So now the question:

Why does MM's family use my bottle brush to wash the dishes? There's a scrubby-pad, a sponge and a washrag in the sink, but they wash the dishes with the bottle brush? It isn't just one member of his family that does this, either. I've seen his sister, mom and grandma all do it. And I'm not talking about glasses here, either. I'm talking all the dishes, pots and pans included.

Is this normal? Does everyone but me wash their dishes with a bottle brush?